


Alone

by intheinkpot



Series: Whumptober 2019 [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bellatrix Black Lestrange has PTSD, F/F, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 04:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20960138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intheinkpot/pseuds/intheinkpot
Summary: Bellatrix hates being alone. Crookshanks makes sure she isn't.





	Alone

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: isolation

Bellatrix paced restlessly in Hermione’s study, feeling every second tick passed with the old grandfather clock. Hermione had sent word that she would be kept late at work - not an uncommon occurrence, but an unwelcome one. Not that she would ever admit that to Hermione. Bellatrix would not hinder Hermione’s bright career, not for anything.

If only Cissy were not busy tonight... If only things were better between her and Andromeda...

If only the patering of the rain outside, louder than usual with Hermione’s window cracked open, did not sound so frighteningly similar to rain against cracked windows in another place, another time, the distant rumble of thunder like the roar of the ocean against rocky shores... 

A flash of lightning threw bars of broken light across the floor, and Bellatrix jumped, her heart racing. She cursed.

“Damn it, Hermione,” she muttered furiously. Hermione had recently gotten new curtains for her study windows, but she had neglected to remove the blinds they had meant to replace. “Distracted by work, I suppose.” 

She drew her wand, and with a few spells, the blinds lay in a tangled heap in a corner. Hermione wouldn’t be happy when she discovered them, but Bellatrix didn’t care. Not at that moment, not when her heart pounded painfully in her chest. A cold breeze brushed her skin, and she shivered, feeling the cold seep beneath her skin, curl around her bones, settle deep in her chest.

I could summon her home right now, she thought. One word and she’d be racing back -

With a jerky flick of her wand, the study fireplace burst to life, and when the heat of the fire washed over Bellatrix, she felt herself calm. She sank onto the couch facing the fireplace. 

There was no need to alarm Hermione. She would be fine. She had lived for fourteen years with just herself and her thoughts. Surely she could handle a few more hours...

The door creaked open. Bellatrix glanced up, her heart soaring. But Hermione was not in the doorway. Crookshanks jumped up onto the arm of the chair, waddled across the sofa and curled up in her lap, ignoring Bellatrix’s noise of disapproval.

It was only a half hearted protest anyway, she thought, feeling a rush of affection for the mangy cat, hesitantly stroking his fur. She hated being alone. Still, she could not resist teasing. “I’m going to convince Hermione to get a dog, and then we’ll see how you like me.”

Crookshanks glared up at her, and she smiled, scratching his ears. He was growing on her, she had to admit.


End file.
